A PhD student at University of Galway, Chloe Lawlor, has led an international team of astronomers to discover a second planet, WISPIT 2c, forming around the young star WISPIT 2 in the Eagle constellation. Estimated to be 5 million years old and about ten times the mass of Jupiter, WISPIT 2c orbits closer to its star than the previously discovered WISPIT 2b.Using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) in Chile, the team was able to detect the planet’s chemical signature, particularly carbon monoxide, confirming its presence. This makes WISPIT 2 only the second known young multi-planet system still in formation, providing a rare opportunity to study early planetary formation and evolution.The research, supported by the Ryan Institute, has been published in Astrophysical Journal Letters. University officials praised the discovery as a landmark achievement in astrophysics and a testament to world-class research at the university.
Source:University of Galway
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